


Et Sanguinem Caritate

by nyxxstay



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Blood Drinking, Blood and Injury, Enemies to Friends, Falling In Love, Fights, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Lovers, Han Jisung | Han is Whipped, Human/Vampire Relationship, Lee Minho | Lee Know is Whipped, M/M, Mild Gore, Near Death Experiences, Protectiveness, Tags Are Hard, Vampire Hunters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:14:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29669871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyxxstay/pseuds/nyxxstay
Summary: After getting kicked out of the Hunters' Academy, Jisung needs to find a way to support himself, and a new roommate. Lee Minho, a quiet and reserved, yet extraordinarily kind man seems to be the perfect fit for a new apartment mate and friend. Jisung likes him, perhaps more than he'd like to admit.Until a secret is revealed that not only shatters the foundations of the budding relationship they were building, but perhaps also everything Jisung thought he knew about the world he lives in.ORJisung is the disowned son of a renowned family of vampire hunters, and discovers that maybe vampires aren't as evil as he's been taught, and that he might even be in love with one.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 5
Kudos: 125
Collections: MINSUNG FICATHON: Round One; 2020





	Et Sanguinem Caritate

**Author's Note:**

> `Written for [MINSUNG FICATHON](http://twitter.com/minsungficathon), for PROMPT **P047**`

“Are you Han Jisung?”

Jisung glanced up from his book, meeting the dark yet bright eyes of another man appearing to be around his age. Jisung smiled. “I am. Are you Lee Minho?”

The man nodded with an equally warm smile. “Yes, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You as well. Would you like to sit?”

Minho obliged, seating himself across the table from the sandy blonde in the small little coffee shop they had chosen to meet in. 

“So I take it you’re still interested in the open spot in my apartment?” Jisung asked, taking a sip from his tea.

“Yes, I am. I’ve been living with my friend for a while so it’s time I stop infringing on his space and get a place of my own, I think,” Minho responded with a nod. “Is there anything you want to know about me?”

Jisung shrugged with a friendly smile. “As long as you aren’t a serial killer and you won’t eat my food, I think things will be fine. I just wanted to meet you to make sure you were a real person.”

Minho chuckled. “Well I can confirm that I’ve never killed someone, nor do I intend to. And don’t worry, I won’t touch your food.”

“Awesome, when do you want to move in?”

“Does Saturday work?”

“Absolutely!” Jisung took another sip of his tea. “Oh, one last question: you’re not a vampire or anything are you?”

Minho laughed. “No, of course not.”

  
  
  


Jisung was screwed.

Not as much as he had been, since now he at least had a roommate to help him meet rent, but boy was he absolutely fucked.

Jisung had been raised to kill vampires. It was all his family had done for centuries, and yet for this first time in his family’s history, someone didn’t make it through the Hunters’ Academy. _Jisung_ didn’t make it through.

Not that Jisung really cared about being a hunter; it didn’t make him happy or anything, it was just his duty as the only son of the Han family. But he hadn’t meant to fail out of the Academy, and now he had nothing. His parents cut him off, disowning him as a disgrace to the family name, and though it hurt to no longer have contact with them, he couldn’t say he was all that torn up about it. His parents hadn’t done much to raise him other than enforce rigorous training schedules, and were constantly gone on missions to get rid of vampire infestations, so it wasn’t a huge loss to him. The main loss was from the lack of financial support, since now he had nothing but a high school education, two years lost to the Academy, and only a minimum wage job. He was lucky he had an apartment, but he couldn’t pay for it on his own anymore.

That’s why he put out an ad for a new roommate, which is how he met Minho.

Minho was cool. He was nice, funny, pretty reserved most of the time. After only a week of living together, they’d already worked out a good understanding of how the other functioned, what their schedules were like, the way the other behaved. Minho was a normal guy, a normal human being, and that in itself was a relief because Jisung had spent most of his life surrounded by people obsessed with learning to hunt creatures of the dark. By all means, he loved his friends, but it was nice to finally be around someone who had no knowledge of the dark secrets of their world, of the creatures that lurked in the night. It was sane and normal, a breath of fresh air. Jisung could get used to it.

And he did. He got used to it faster than he could’ve ever imagined, waking up to the smell of whatever Minho was cooking before he went to work, always finding a bowl of the meal on the table for him after Minho left, coming back from his own job to find Minho lounging on the couch and watching TV, always greeting the younger with a smile and asking how his day went. It was comfortable, friendly. Within no time at all, Jisung had a friend in Minho.

Minho was a dancer, had no family, just a few friends around town. He was always up at late hours, which always blew Jisung’s mind since the older had to rise at the ass crack of dawn for his job; how he managed to survive with so little sleep Jisung couldn’t understand. Minho was strange, with an unusual, teasing sense of humor. Once they were comfortable enough, Minho would find joy in making Jisung laugh, and Jisung couldn’t help how comfortable he felt with such a playful dynamic between them. It was nice, special even, something Jisung had never had before.

Jisung just felt… at ease with Minho around. He hadn’t expected his search for an apartment mate to turn into a friendship, but he couldn’t complain.

  
  
  


About four months after Minho had moved in, Jisung found himself seated on the couch after work, groaning as he flipped through the channels with frustration. He heard the click of the lock, not bothering to look as the familiar footsteps of Minho could be heard entering the living space.

“Hey Sung,” Minho said, the smile obvious in his voice. 

“Hey Min,” Jisung sighed, still focusing on the TV as he clicked past some dramas.

“How was your day?” Minho plopped down on the couch beside the younger, lounging back against the cushions in his baggy t-shirt and sweats.

“Shitty. As usual.”

Minho chuckled. “What happened this time?”

“Boss was on my ass all day, nagged me about every little thing that my coworkers should’ve done, not me. I had a stupid customer every damn hour, and this one gal was trying her damndest to get me fired just because I couldn’t give her a refund for a product she’d used. Every time I turned around something was going wrong and I wanted to pull my hair out.” Jisung didn’t mean to rant, but he felt like he was going to explode. Everything had gotten on his nerves and built up to the point where just _existing_ was aggravating him today.

Minho smiled. “Sounds like you had a rough day. Lucky for you,” he reached beside the couch, bringing out a container from his bag, “I brought cheesecake for you from the bakery.”

Jisung’s eyes widened in surprise. “You what?!”

Minho laughed as he handed the container to his friend. “I figured you’d be sad if I didn’t bring you any.”

“But you didn’t have to buy me any,” Jisung pouted.

“They were having a sale, buy a slice and get a slice free,” he shrugged.

Jisung all but shoved a bite of the delicacy into his mouth, cheeks puffing out like that of a squirrel. “Then where’s your slice?” He mumbled through his mouthful of food.

“I ate mine already.”

“And you couldn’t wait for me?” Jisung playfully shoved the older with a smile. “How rude!”

Minho laughed, fending off Jisung’s repeated attempts at smacking him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I was hungry, okay?” Jisung crossed his arms to feign hurt with another pout, and Minho reached out to poke the younger’s cheeks. “Oh cheer up, you’ve got yourself some cheesecake, and now we can relax and watch a drama or a movie, and no worrying about your boss or the stupid customers, yeah?”

Jisung sighed, the smallest smile twisting the corners of his lips. “Fine~”

Minho grabbed the remote that had been discarded in favor of the cheesecake, and began flipping through channels as Jisung downed more of his dessert and snuggled into the blanket around him. Eventually they found a drama that they found interesting and began binging the series as the sun set. 

Nights like this weren’t common, but they were normal, comfortable. Minho was a thoughtful person, always finding small ways to look out for Jisung, either in him constantly cooking food for the younger when he knew Jisung didn’t have the time, going out of his way to cheer him up when he’d had a bad day, listening to him rant about whatever was on his mind, offering advice, or just being a comforting presence. Jisung appreciated the little gestures, and wished he could find a way to do more in return, even though Minho had made it abundantly clear he never wanted anything in return. 

The two watched their show late into the night, and the next thing Jisung knew, he was being nudged awake by Minho’s cool hand, the clock in the kitchen reading 1 AM. Minho’s eyes glinted in the dim lighting of the TV as he looked down at Jisung’s sleepy form resting on his shoulder. Jisung grumbled, clinging to Minho’s arm.

“Sungie~” Minho tapped the younger’s forehead, trying to get him at least somewhat coherent. “It’s late, you should go to bed.”

“‘m comfy,” Jisung whined. “Don’t wanna get up.”

The older chuckled. “I’ll carry you if I have to,” he threatened teasingly, and when the younger only groaned in response, he wasted no time in hooking his arms under Jisung’s small body, hoisting him up as he stood to walk to his bedroom.

“Minho!” Jisung practically shrieked at the sudden movement, quickly latching his arms around Minho’s neck to ensure he didn’t suddenly get dropped, which, in his opinion, was definitely something Minho would do. Minho only laughed as he entered Jisung’s room, carefully maneuvering through the mess of clothes that littered the ground to the younger’s small bed, gently setting him down on the comforter and pulling the blankets over his small body. Jisung hummed in content as soon as he touched the softness of his bed, curling up under the blankets as heaviness tugged at his eyelids.

“‘gnight Minho,” he mumbled, faintly aware of his friend’s soft footsteps leaving the room.

“Good night Sung, sleep well.”

  
  
  


“Bro he’s _totally_ into you,” Hyunjin deadpanned, staring at his friend over his bowl of ramen while he sat across from Jisung on the couch.

“He is not!” Jisung shot back, fully prepared to throw his chopsticks at his annoying best friend.

“Dude,” Changbin interjected, “he cooks for you at least three times a week, brings you cheesecake and other random things he finds that he thinks you might like, he bought you chocolate the week after valentine’s day-”

“They were on clearance!”

“And now you’re telling us he carried you to bed a couple weeks ago? Those aren’t ‘apartment mate’ things, Ji, those are _boyfriend_ things.”

“It’s not like that,” Jisung swore, downing the last of the broth in his bowl. He loved Changbin and Hyunjin, they’d been his best friends since childhood for god sake, but sometimes he thought they really did take too much of an interest in his nonexistent love life.

“But do you want it to be like that?” Hyunjin asked.

Jisung shook his head immediately. “No, of course not! He lives with me, this isn’t a chance for me to find a boyfriend!”

Changbin raised an eyebrow. “This isn’t about the circumstances, this is about whether you like him.”

Jisung groaned, falling backwards onto the couch cushions behind him. “I don’t know,” he sighed. “He’s really sweet, he’s funny, attentive, but I haven’t really thought about it much.”

Hyunjin rolled his eyes. “Well if you aren’t gonna date him, can I? I need me a man that will cook for me.”

Jisung actually did throw his chopsticks this time. “You haven’t even met him!” 

“Yeah, which is a crime if you ask me. You’ve been living with him for almost six months and we still haven’t gotten to meet the guy.”

“Well I’m sorry, but you two have been super busy with finishing training at the academy, so it’s not exactly my fault.” Jisung laughed as he spoke.

“Yeah yeah, whatever.”

“Speaking of,” Jisung began to grab all the bowls, taking them to the kitchen a few feet away, “How has that been going? Graduation is soon, right?”

“It’s been fine,” Changbin responded. “Training is training, nothing we didn’t learn from our families growing up.”

“We got to dissect a vampire the other day,” Hyunjin added. “It was super weird, because all their organs are still human, even though none of them really work anymore, and their blood is super dark red because it’s poisoned by the venom that turned them.”

Jisung grimaced at the thought, placing the bowls in the sink before sitting back down in the living area.

“We got to learn how to use that new drug the Order has been working on too.”

“The one that supposedly reveals who’s a vampire?” Jisung asked in curiosity. He’d heard rumor of some new miracle drug that could help hunters figure out who was a vampire in hiding and who wasn’t among the population of humans, but as far as he knew, it was still far from being finished.

Changbin nodded. “Yeah, right now they’ve only managed to turn it into a liquid that has to come into contact with a vampire’s blood, but once it does, they completely lose control and go absolutely nuts with bloodlust.”

“If you’re putting it into their bloodstream then you must already know they’re a bloodsucker, so what is the purpose at that point?”

“Well right now, nothing, but if we manage to convert it to a gas like the Order wants, we can use it in isolated areas to reveal the bastards in hiding. No more masquerading as a human.”

“That will certainly make it easier to clean out the infestations in the cities,” Jisung agreed.

His friends nodded, before Hyunjin sighed and looked at Jisung with a knowing look. “So when are you going to reapply to the academy?”

Jisung rolled his eyes. “Jinnie-”

“No, don’t ‘Jinnie’ me. It’s been eight months since you left, and I checked the roster for next year and you didn’t even reapply! You just planning to spend another year being cut out of your family?”

Jisung sighed, folding his hands in his lap. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if I’m going to reapply.”

“You’re a Han, Sung, the only son of one of the oldest hunter families in the country.”

Jisung shook his head. “I know, but I just… nothing feels right. Being a hunter doesn’t make me happy, I was only doing it because I didn’t have a say in the matter. Now that I kind of have a chance to be something else… One hunter isn’t going to make a difference.”

“And that’s why you still carry your dagger with you?” Hyunjin gave him a look that told Jisung that he was totally unconvinced.

Jisung frowned. “I carry it so I can protect myself.”

“If you are still concerned enough to feel the need to protect yourself, then the infestation is clearly still a problem to you,” Changbin said. “And every hunter helps.”

“Don’t you wanna help protect people?” Hyunjin asked. “What if a bloodsucker attacked Minho? He’d be defenseless, and another innocent person, someone you care about, would lose their life. You can prevent that. Being a hunter, you can kill those monsters before they have the chance to hurt innocent people like Minho.”

Jisung frowned, the thought of Minho being harmed now bouncing in his mind. The image of the older being pinned down, unable to escape the creature attacking him, the thing drinking his blood, killing him, or worse, _turning_ him, sent chills down Jisung’s spine. He didn’t want that.

“I’ll think about it,” Jisung relented. “I’ll see how I’m feeling then next time applications open up.”

They were interrupted by the sound of a lock clicking behind them, the door to the apartment swinging open to reveal none other than a rather surprised looking Minho. Jisung’s eyes widened.

“Oh shit,” Jisung suddenly realized why the older looked so shocked, “I’m sorry Min, I forgot to text you to let you know my friends were coming over.”

“We can leave if it’s an issue,” Changbin stated, eyes wandering over the boy he’d heard so much about.

“No, it’s fine,” Minho responded. “I’m Minho, it’s nice to finally meet you.” He smiled, bowing kindly to Jisung’s friends.

“Nice to meet you too,” Changbing and Hyunjin responded, doing their best to bow in their seated positions.

The conversations continued for a couple more hours, although the topic was changed for the sake of secrecy around Minho, and all the while Minho sat and listened. Jisung had never seen the older so quiet, and sure he was a reserved person, but this felt different, unnatural even. The way Minho’s eyes flitted between the three of them, it felt cautious, not at all the friendly and warm gaze of his friend. Jisung was worried, afraid that perhaps he really had upset Minho by forgetting to let him know they’d be over, or perhaps it was something else. 

Hyunjin and Changbin eventually took their leave, giving Jisung big hugs and promising to visit again soon, and as soon as the guests had left their home, Minho announced he was going to retire to his room, causing the younger to bite his inner cheek in worry.

“Minho?” Jisung spoke up before Minho managed to close his bedroom door. The older paused, turning to look at his friend.

“What is it, Jisung?”

“I really am sorry about forgetting to let you know they were coming over.” Jisung wrung his hands in front of him, gaze downcast. “It was irresponsible of me. I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable.”

Minho’s gaze softened. “It’s okay, Sung, really.”

“You just seemed… oddly distant tonight.”

“I’m just not feeling well, that’s all, I promise. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Jisung’s eyes widened. “Oh, do you need anything? I have some medicine, or I can make you some food or something?”

Minho smiled, shaking his head. “I’m okay, thank you. I’m just gonna get some rest. Goodnight Sungie.”

Jisung nodded. “Goodnight Min.”

Minho closed his bedroom door, leaving the younger to find his way back to the couch, flipping through the channels as his mind wandered elsewhere. He hoped Minho felt better soon, and if the older was still feeling ill in the morning he’d go out and try to get some medicine for him. Jisung felt bad that Minho was under the weather, but in his thoughts of worry, he was reminded of what his friends had said.

Did Minho like him? Like that? What did Jisung feel for him? Initially he thought nothing of it, but now he couldn’t let it go, the idea of being something more. Minho was honestly the perfect guy, and Jisung really wouldn’t mind dating him the more he considered it, but he shook his head at the thought. Minho definitely wasn’t interested in him like that, and Jisung wouldn’t dare risk their friendship for some small romantic feelings. He’d just have to get over it.

  
  
  


Jisung really wanted to deck his friends.

Ever since they mentioned the idea that Minho and he could be a thing, he couldn’t shake the thoughts. It was like a seed had been planted, rooting through his mind and prodding at his every thought and action. He was overanalyzing everything, every kind deed Minho performed he wondered if there was a deeper intention, and almost hoped that there was, hoped that Minho was trying to convey some sort of feelings to the younger boy, because Jisung found himself falling.

He hadn’t particularly paid attention before, but Jisung had become very aware of how attractive Minho was, almost aggressively so. Minho had beautiful dark eyes that shined when he smiled, a perfect nose and facial bone structure. He was only a bit taller, his body well toned, and Jisung now had to force himself to not stare when the older arrived home in sweats and a sleeveless shirt after work, because _damn_ , it honestly felt like his soul was leaving his body anytime he saw the sight. One time, he was pretty sure Minho caught him looking but a bit too long, and the smirk he was met with afterwards made the older want to fall out of his chair and scream. Minho had to know how attractive he was, he was sure of it, and apparently he quite liked seeing Jisung react to it, because afterward, Minho almost seemed to make it a point to arrive home in sleeveless shirts and to make sure Jisung saw it. 

Minho really was going to be the death of him.

But then the second guessing would start. What if Minho really wasn’t doing it on purpose? Minho really was just a kind guy, so it was likely his nice gestures didn’t hold any double meaning, and the sleeveless shirts and sweats that hugged his thighs _just_ right could’ve just been because that was what Minho was comfortable in. Besides, why would Minho have any romantic interest in him, of all people? Jisung didn’t have much going for him, he had a shitty job, he wasn’t in school, and sure he could go to the Academy again if he chose, but becoming a hunter and dating someone who wasn’t a part of their world, that would be dangerous. Minho would be put in danger and Jisung didn’t want that.

Vampires were twisted creatures. They didn’t have a soul anymore, they didn’t feel anything, and they would do horrible things just because they could. Jisung knew too many instances of entire families of hunters being slaughtered, men, women, and children alike, all for one of them even getting close to touching a coven. And they weren’t simple kills either, they were violent, torturous murders of innocent people, and if Jisung went back into the academy, if he became a hunter, those would be the things he’d be facing. If Jisung had the power, he’d wish nothing more than erase every last one of them off the planet, but he couldn’t. He could fight, and likely defend himself from one or two of those things, but it was a dangerous life, and there was a huge possibility he’d just wind up dead like so many others.

But what Hyunjin had mentioned still stuck in his mind. What if one of those things attacked Minho, to get at him? The thought of the pain they’d put the older through, the fear he’d have to endure, and what if they chose to turn him, knowing Jisung would have no choice but to kill Minho for what he became? Jisung couldn’t risk Minho getting hurt, but he wanted to be able to protect him from those horrors too. He really didn’t know what to do.

But Jisung knew one thing: he liked Minho, but he couldn’t and wouldn’t do anything about it. Minho probably didn’t like him, and getting involved would put Minho in danger no matter how he sliced it. He wouldn’t risk his friendship, or Minho’s life. It was better that way.

Jisung would have to deal with it.

  
  
  


Things continued normally for another few weeks. Minho and Jisung had now surpassed 6 months living together, and it’d been fantastic, but Jisung’s feelings were still, unfortunately, going on strong, and Minho wasn’t doing much to help.

In fact, to celebrate a promotion Minho had received at his job, he invited Jisung to go to dinner with him. To a fancy restaurant. And Minho was paying.

Jisung knew it was wrong, but he couldn’t help but get his hopes up. Even though he’d been trying to move on and forget his feelings, they’d only been getting deeper, stronger. Minho was just too perfect to not fall for, his soul was too kind and warm. Jisung felt like he was staring into the sun everytime the older smiled, and it was that kind of beauty that hurt to look at but it took your breath away and bore the pain because you wanted to engrain it in your mind forever. Minho was like that, his soul was blindingly bright, but warm and safe, and Jisung couldn’t help but just lean into that warmth, even when he knew he shouldn’t.

Jisung was so nervous about dinner. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a date, or if it was just a friendly dinner, and Jisung didn’t dare ask for fear of ruining anything that was there. But he still spent hours figuring out what he wanted to wear, knowing he couldn’t dress casual regardless of the intention of the dinner, because it was one of the nicest restaurants in town. Jisung hoped his nice jacket accented with a belt around his waist would be enough for the dinner, and perhaps enough to get Minho’s eyes to wander just a bit longer than usual. He hoped.

Jisung was just waiting for Minho to get home from work now. Their reservation was for 8, so Minho would have time to shower and prepare, and each minute made Jisung feel more like he was going to explode. He couldn’t stop fidgeting, hands folding and unfolding in his lap while he zoned out in front of the television. Minho would be home anytime, and he couldn’t help but feel that everything was going to change the moment he did, and he prayed it would be for the better.

Eventually, a knock came at the door, and Jisung was pulled from his nervous daze, rising to move to the front door. He wasn’t sure why Minho would be knocking, since he had a key to their apartment, but he didn’t question it much, swiftly unlocking the door and swinging it open to greet his friend, but instead, he was met with two unfamiliar faces, a hunters’ crest present on the shoulder of their jackets.

“Can I help you?” Jisung asked with a raised eyebrow.

The hunters looked taken aback to see someone they clearly recognized at the door. “Oh, we were unaware a hunter lived here,” the first one remarked. Jisung figured they recognized him because of his family.

Jisung chuckled. “Well I’m not technically a hunter yet, but what’s going on?” Jisung could only think of one reason why they’d be in the area, and the idea made him nervous. “Is there a bloodsucker in the area?”

“Well,” the second one spoke, “we’ve been trailing one that seems to frequent this area. We have reason to believe it lives here, in this apartment.”

“Does anyone else live with you?” the first one asked.

Jisung’s mind was racing, the worst thoughts bouncing in his head, but at the moment, he didn’t have time to dwell on any of them. He needed to get these guys to leave, he could deal with the repercussions later.

“No,” Jisung lied. “I’m the only one that lives here.”

“Do you mind proving that you’re human?” The hunter revealed a dagger under his jacket.

Jisung waved at the man to put his weapon away. “Don’t bother, I have mine.” Jisung pulled his own dagger from the inside of his jacket, the golden crested hilt glinting in the hall light as he unsheathed it, placing the sharp blade to the tip of his finger and drawing blood. “See? Regular blood, no veining. I’m human.”

The hunters nodded. “Thank you. Sorry for bothering you, but keep an eye out, okay? Never know who those fuckers might be pretending to be.”

Jisung nodded in thanks. “I will, thank you. Goodnight.”

Jisung closed the door, releasing a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as the lock clicked behind him. He was grateful he kept his blessed blade on him in order to prove his innocence, but now he had other things to worry about, namely, that hunters had tracked a vampire to his apartment, one they believed lived there.

There was only one person that lived there besides Jisung, but it had to be a mistake. There was no way Minho was one of those disgusting creatures, he was too kind, genuine, and pure. Minho wasn’t a soulless bloodsucker, he was Jisung’s friend, he was human.

He had to be, right?

But now Jisung couldn’t help but think about the many things that lined up with the idea that maybe Minho wasn’t who Jisung had thought. Minho’s skin was always cool to the touch, Jisung had never seen him eat that he could recall, and he always seemed to be awake way late into the night. But if Minho was one of them, why hadn’t he tried to kill Jisung yet? It’d been months, and vampires weren’t very good at controlling their thirst, so how had Minho been satiating himself for so many months? And why was he even living with him?

Had Minho just been using him? Minho had to know what Jisung was a part of, so maybe he was using him as a guise, trying to make it harder to find him. Or maybe Minho was just toying with him, gaining his trust so he could turn on him and kill him. That was what those bloodsuckers were known for.

Jisung couldn’t stand it, his mind felt frazzled and confused. He didn’t want to believe that the boy he’d found comfort in, the boy he’d been falling for these months had been using him all along, but the anxiety felt debilitating. He wanted to wait and talk to Minho, but Minho could easily just lie, or turn on him in the blink of an eye. Jisung needed to know, and he needed to know now what the truth was.

Jisung felt like he was in a daze as he entered the older’s room, flipping on the light as he glanced around. It looked just like when he’d last seen it, clean and kempt, simply furnished and decorated, save for the unique cat pillow on his bed. Jisung’s eyes drifted to the minifridge by the small bed, his hand reaching for the handle and pulling it open, finding several containers marked with labels from a butcher.

Animal blood.

  
  
  


“Hey Sungie! You ready for-”

Minho faltered in his words, eyes landing on the younger boy seated on the couch, staring at two items on the table in front of him: a container of blood, and a hunter’s dagger.

“Sung?”

“Don’t call me that,” Jisung snapped, turning to the older with fiery eyes. “You’re one of those things, aren’t you?”

Minho’s eyes were wide, mouth opening and closing with words that were lost in his throat, like a fish out of water. “I-I…”

Jisung stood up, dagger in hand. “I may not be a full hunter yet, but I’m not stupid, Minho. Get out, and don’t come back.”

“No wait! You don’t understand!” A tear slipped from Minho’s eye, causing the younger to scoff.

“Don’t try the pity party with me!” Jisung shouted, his breath coming fast as he gripped the hilt of his weapon. “You’re one of them! You’ve been lying this whole time, so save the fake tears, I know the truth now, and you don’t feel a damn thing, just like the rest of them.”

“That’s not true, Jisung, it’s all lies!” Minho moved forward, pleading with the human in front of him, only to have the blessed blade pointed directly at him. “Please, just listen to me.”

Jisung shook his head, fighting back the pained tears welling in his eyes. “I thought we were friends.”

“We are-”

“No we aren’t! You’ve been faking everything! You were using me, that’s all you bloodsuckers do! You lie, you use, you kill, anything to satiate your twisted desires! You’re evil, and I won’t be fooled by it any longer.” Jisung was doing his best to stand his ground, but he couldn’t hide the way his hand shook holding the weapon in front of him, pointing it at the person that a mere hour ago, he had been internally panicking about his romantic feelings for. He should’ve known better.

More tears fell from Minho’s eyes, his lip trembling as he tried to speak. “I’m not like that,” he whispered. “Please Jisungie, I’m begging you-”

“I told you not to call me that.” Jisung took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. “Leave, get out before I kill you myself.”

The look in Minho’s eyes changed, and Jisung suddenly realized Minho was afraid, afraid of him.

And it hurt.

“Okay,” Minho nodded, turning towards the door. “Goodbye Jisung.”

In a flash, Minho was gone, taking with him the only sense of freedom and normalcy Jisung had ever had.

  
  
  


Jisung found an envelope of cash in his mail the next day, and though there was no return address, he knew it had been Minho, giving him enough money to pay rent for the both of them for at least another year. A part of him wanted to just get rid of it, have a sense of honor that he’d be receiving no help from the vampire that had been living under his roof, but he knew that wasn’t feasible in his situation, so he swallowed his pride, choosing to just pretend he’d acquired the rent money some other way, even though he knew full well he hadn’t.

Everything changed when Minho left. Jisung didn’t find breakfast in a bowl on the table when he woke up, no one asked him how his days went, there were no shared smiles or teasing jabs. A hole had opened in his life, a void where Minho had once been. He told himself not to feel bad, to get over it, because Minho wasn’t his friend and never had been, but he’d still tricked him, still kept the charade going so well and for so long that Jisung hadn’t been able to tell the difference between what was real and fake.

Jisung hadn’t known the difference, he’d really been fooled into believing Minho was human, that he was his friend. He’d even believed, if just for a moment, that Minho might’ve had feelings for him. Now the thought sounded absurd, and Jisung cursed himself for ever having given in, because not only did he feel betrayed, but he was heartbroken. He liked Minho, he’d liked him a lot, and though he was scared of what it would’ve meant, he had secretly hoped that maybe Minho had felt the same, that there was something between them. He thought he’d felt it, thought he recognized the fondness and warmth in Minho’s eyes, and he’d fallen into the trap. Minho had faked it all.

But why? That question kept him up late at night, wondering for what reason Minho had faked any of it. Living with a hunter was risky, but the reward was having a convincing hideaway from other hunters; that part made sense, Jisung could understand that, but why pretend to be his friend? Hunters and vampires were enemies, they killed each other daily across the world, so why try to build a friendship with one? What was there to gain?

Did Minho think that Jisung would forgive him for being a monster if he became his friend? Anyone knew that that was impossible, that hunters hate vampires more than anything else, and Minho couldn’t be that stupid to believe Jisung would somehow be an exception to that. So was Minho just toying with him, gaining his trust so he could turn on him and break him completely, turning Jisung into the victim of another vampire’s cruel games? Maybe; vampires were cruel and twisted, and they loved to play with their food. Their charms and attractiveness made it easy to pass as a human, to worm their way into lives either to gain access to what they want, or just to mess around before turning and killing their victims. Minho could’ve been doing just that, enjoying toying with a hunter until he got bored and killed him.

But even that theory had flaws. Jisung discovered the truth, and he was clearly emotionally compromised and had only a dagger to protect himself. Minho could’ve and should’ve killed him on the spot, to prevent himself from being tracked further, to feed himself… and why leave money? Why not kill Jisung and end the charade then and there?

None of what Minho had done over the six months Jisung had known him aligned properly with any fact he knew about vampires.

“Vampires never make complete sense,” Changbin told him a couple weeks later, Jisung’s friends attempting to console him.

“I can’t believe he had me fooled,” Jisung remarked, staring down at the untouched food in front of him. “It was so believable, he was so sweet to me…”

“You actually fell for him, didn’t you?” Hyunjin asked, though it felt like more of a statement than a question.

Jisung didn’t answer, focusing on trying not to let the tightness in his chest bring him to tears for the dozenth time since Minho left.

“Oh Sung…”

“I’m stupid, I know,” Jisung laughed at his own misery. “I had no idea what he was, and I know I should hate him, and yet I feel so hurt.”

“It’s not your fault,” Changbin reminded him. “That’s what they do, they’re parasites.”

“Then why do I feel so torn?” Jisung rested his head in his hands. “He used me, he was probably going to kill me, but I still miss him sometimes. There’s a part of me that wishes I’d never even learned the truth, that I could’ve just been ignorant and gone on about my life with him here.”

“Sung, that’s-”

“I know, it’s wrong. It’s a deathwish, I know that.”

Hyunjin took Jisung’s hand, squeezing it gently. “You’ll get over him, yeah? It’ll be okay.”

Jisung tried to believe those words, he really did, but as days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, the hurt didn’t really fade. Jisung pretended he was better, told himself he never cared, but when he looked at the couch cushion beside him, the spot where Minho always sat, he couldn’t help but worry. A part of him had thought that maybe Minho would come back, either to finish him off or to try to talk to him, but as time ticked away with no word from the boy, sometimes the worst thoughts crossed his mind.

What if Minho was dead? What if by kicking him out, Minho had nowhere to go, and those hunters found him? Jisung shouldn’t care, the world was better off with one less bloodsucker, but the idea that Jisung might’ve been the cause for the death of someone he cared about, no matter how twisted the person, caused guilt to weigh heavily on his heart. 

Nightmares plagued his sleep, but they really only served to give him whiplash with his feelings. Sometimes he dreamt of Minho returning to kill him, of begging the older boy for his life only for Minho to laugh and rip out his throat. Other times, he dreamt of Minho being the one to die, of his cries for Jisung to help him as he was torn apart by blessed weapons. He either saw the blood red eyes of a monster, or the sad, dying eyes of his friend, and there was no in between, no reprieve from the confusion and mixed emotions ripping apart his soul.

After two and a half months, Jisung gave up hope of ever hearing from Minho again. Though he wished he had some sort of closure about what had become of the vampire, he knew that would likely never happen, and thoughts of what might’ve been, questions about the truth, served no purpose but to further confuse him. He had to move forward, no matter how conflicted he felt.

Until the day he returned home from grocery shopping, finding the plain brown door of his apartment ajar, the lights inside turned on.

And a deep red, nearly black substance smeared on the handle.

Jisung set the groceries down, instinctively unsheathing his dagger as he approached the door to his home. His eyes scanned his surroundings carefully, listening closely for any sound of movement from inside. As he breached the threshold, Jisung noted that nothing seemed out of place, not like someone had ransacked his house or been looking for him. In fact, the door didn’t even seem broken, just that someone had left it open.

Then, as Jisung turned the corner into the living space, his eyes landed on the form of a familiar brunette boy, lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

“Holy shit,” Jisung cursed, rushing to Minho’s side and attempting to assess the issue. Minho was curled on his side, his dark blood coating his hands as he weakly pressed them to what seemed to be a large wound in his stomach, short breaths coming as the vampire remained barely conscious. Jisung immediately turned him over, pulling Minho’s upper body into his lap as he began to apply pressure to the source of the bleeding, causing him to groan weakly. “Minho?” Jisung called, his free hand coming to cup the other’s face, attempting to direct his gaze at him. “Can you hear me?”

Minho blinked dazedly at him. “Jisungie…?” Minho’s voice was weak, and his blood covered hand came up to touch Jisung’s face, as though he couldn’t believe the human was really there.

Jisung saw tears well in Minho’s eyes, and in that moment, he felt like he couldn’t breathe, like the entire weight of the world came crashing down on his shoulders. Fear coursed through his veins, making his breath heavy and heart race. Minho was in pain, Minho was _dying_ , right there in front of him, and suddenly, it no longer mattered that he was what Jisung had spent his whole life training to kill. Minho wasn’t a vampire then, Minho was _Minho_ , and Jisung refused to let Minho die like this. He had to save him, had to make him okay again.

He couldn’t lose him.

“What happened?” Jisung asked hurriedly. “Why aren’t you healing?” Vampires were capable of healing insanely fast, so the fact that Minho was literally bleeding out on the apartment floor told Jisung that something very wrong was going on.

“H-hunt-ters,” Minho stuttered, wincing at the effort.

Jisung felt the color leave his face. Hunter’s weapons were blessed with holy water, which made them deadly to vampires, and any wounds caused by them healed very slowly, not to mention they were painful. Minho was bleeding out too quickly; he wouldn’t survive long enough for his body to overcome the damage and begin healing. At this rate, Minho probably only had a couple minutes left.

“Fuck,” Jisung cursed, pulling off his hoodie and using it to apply more pressure to Minho’s stomach. “Dammit, Minho. Of all the ways to show back up here, you… you fucking…” Jisung couldn’t find the words, his throat closing as he fought back the panic that was threatening to overwhelm him. He had to think, had to figure out something that could save Minho.

“S-sorry,” Minho smiled slightly.

Jisung shook his head, an idea occurring to him. “Blood will heal you, right? You need blood! I still have the animal blood you left!” Jisung moved to get up, but was stopped by Minho’s hand grabbing his wrist weakly.

“It w-won’t help,” Minho stuttered, his dark eyes blinking slowly at the human.

“What do you mean it won’t help? Minho, you’re going to die, and blood can heal you!”

“‘s n-not strong en-nough.” Minho gasped out the words, his eyes squeezing shut in pain.

Jisung felt like he was going to break down completely, watching Minho’s skin turn steadily paler, his voice growing weaker by the second as he lay in his arms, bleeding out and dying. He felt helpless, at a complete loss at what to do. Minho had finally come back, but he was going to lose him again, permanently, at the hands of his fellow hunters. It wasn’t fair, it didn’t feel right. Minho didn’t deserve this, he was sure of that.

“‘m s-scared.” Tears slipped down Minho’s face as he choked out the words, clearly attempting to suppress the sobs trying to release themselves. “I d-don’t want t-t-to d-die.”

Jisung shook his head, his own tears welling in his eyes. “You’re not going to die, you’re not going to die, Min, okay? I’m here now, you’re safe, and everything will be okay.”

“You d-don't have t-t-to lie.”

Jisung held Minho’s face gently, shaking his head again. “I’m not lying. You’re going to be alright, I’m not letting you die like this.”

Minho didn’t respond, whether because he was too weak or because he chose not to, Jisung didn’t know. The vampire just looked at him, tears in his eyes as all his strength continued to leave his body, and Jisung knew the sight would haunt him forever. If Minho died like this, he would never forgive himself, this was all his fault. He sent Minho out, where he had nowhere to live, no protection, and hunters had found him and tried to kill him. Minho was dying because of him, and it was his worst nightmare come to life, the sad and dying eyes of his best friend staring up at him just like the dreams that woke him up at night. It was happening just like he feared, and he didn’t know what he could do to stop it. He was helpless.

Until a desperate thought occurred to him.

_“Minho, drink my blood.”_

The words fell from his lips faster than Jisung could stop to think about the consequences of such a thing; honestly in that moment, he didn’t even care. He was desperate, and if Minho needed his blood to live, he’d give it in a heartbeat.

Minho’s eyes widened, shaking his head. “N-no!” he choked out. “I w-w-won’t.”

“It’ll save you, won’t it? Human blood makes you stronger, it’ll help you heal!” Jisung pleaded with the older, already undoing the buttons of his shirt to better expose his neck.

“‘m n-not a mon-nster.” Minho’s voice sounded more broken than it already had, more tears spilling from his eyes as his hand weakly fisted Jisung’s shirt, and the sight killed him inside, but he knew there was no other way.

“You have to,” Jisung said as he began to pull Minho’s upper body into more of a sitting position, propping Minho to lean against him so his head rested in the crook of his neck. Minho whimpered in pain, weakly pushing against the human.

Minho continued to shake his head weakly, tears dripping onto Jisung’s shirt. “I d-don’t want to h-h-hurt you. Please.”

Jisung’s heart was shattering into pieces, but he did his best to keep his resolve. “Min,” he whispered softly, taking Minho’s face into his hands to make sure the older made eye contact, “you won’t hurt me. I am offering, I’m willing to do this so that you will be okay. I trust you, I know you’d never do anything to harm me.” Minho continued to grip Jisung’s shirt, eyes shining with fear. “I know your instincts had to have kicked in by now, you know you need to feed, so just do it, okay?”

Jisung pulled the older forward, pushing the vampire’s face towards his exposed neck. He could feel Minho’s shallow breaths against his skin, but he still felt Minho push back, his head shaking once more. “I won’t.”

Minho’s skin was almost ashen grey now, his voice barely a whisper, and Jisung knew he had no time left. If he didn’t do this now, Minho would be gone, but with Minho fighting back and refusing to feed on him, he had only one option left.

Jisung grabbed his dagger that he had dropped beside him, bringing it up and pressing the sharp blade to the vulnerable skin on the side of his neck. “I’m sorry Min,” Jisung whispered as he drew blood, “but this is the only way to save you.”

Minho’s eyes turned red the moment Jisung’s blood was exposed, and without warning the older was grabbing Jisung’s head, tilting it harshly before elongating his fangs from his gums and sinking them into the flesh of the human’s neck. Jisung almost cried out at the feeling, his heart hammering in his chest in fear, but he forced himself to stay quiet, knowing that this was Minho, and Minho didn’t even want this. He hadn’t given the older an option.

Once the initial fear and the sting of the bite wore off, Jisung could notice the tears hitting his skin as the vampire fed on his blood, Minho’s fist grabbing Jisung's blood covered shirt as he slowly maveauvered to sit in his lap. Jisung was surprised at how gentle the older was being; he had expected it to hurt like hell, expected to feel like the life was being sucked out of him, but it didn’t. Minho was careful, his hand gently tilting Jisung’s head to the side as his tongue pressed against the human’s skin under the bite to feed.

Jisung leaned back against the back of the couch behind him, one hand moving to card through Minho’s hair as the other held his body close and rubbed calming circles over his back.

“It’s okay, Min,” Jisung whispered in response to Minho’s faint whimpers against his neck. “It’s okay.”

  
  
  


Minho fell unconscious once he’d had enough blood, leaving Jisung to carefully carry the older to the couch where he could change his clothes and clean the blood from his body. The gaping wound had begun to close, the bleeding entirely stopped, though Jisung did his best to not let his eyes linger on the skin of Minho’s stomach while he changed the vampire’s shirt. Minho was completely still while asleep, not even breathing like he did while awake, and the only sign that Minho was still alive was the occasional whimpers that left his lips, each one chipping away another piece of Jisung’s heart.

Jisung busied himself over the next couple hours by cleaning the nearly black blood from the floor and attempting to remove the stains from their clothes, though rather unsuccessfully. Anything that could distract him while he waited for Minho to wake up was welcome, but eventually, he’d done everything he could, everything but wait.

After three hours, Jisung found himself in the bathroom, staring at the bandage on his neck and his own fear stricken eyes.

What had he done? What was he even thinking? He’d just committed the ultimate taboo, the gravest form of treason. He’d let a vampire feed on him, and saved his life in doing so. He’d been so adamant on getting Minho out of his life, on convincing himself to hate the older, but the moment Minho found his way back into his life, all resolve crumbled, and Jisung gave in. He cared too much for someone he was trained and destined to hate.

When he’d seen Minho bleeding to death on the floor, Jisung ignored every ounce of reason, everything he’d been taught since he was a child. He should’ve used his dagger to finish him off, saved however many countless souls from being killed by another bloodsucker, but it was _Minho_ , Minho with his pretty face and pale skin, his hopeless and pained eyes boring into Jisung’s very soul. Minho, the boy who at one point took every chance to make him laugh, who carried him to bed one night when he was too tired, who brought him cheesecake when the bakery had a sale, the boy Jisung’s heart ached and worried for every night, no matter what his head told him. Jisung was supposed to hate him, despise everything the vampire was, but his heart didn’t care. His heart and mind were at perpetual war with each other.

He had been desperate, and allowed his emotions to get the better of him, and now he’d done something irreversible. Jisung would never be able to become a hunter now, and would always be seen as an enemy by the people he’d been raised by and with. His society would view him as a stain, a failure, a traitor. He’d given up every chance he had of rectifying his position within his family and among the hunters, for the sake of saving a vampire.

The thought caused existential dread to anchor itself in his chest, but when he looked at the bandaged bite on his neck he didn’t feel any regret. Minho was somehow different from the vampires Jisung had learned about; he had seemed truly afraid of dying, both sad and relieved to see Jisung, and when Jisung tried to get him to drink his blood in order to save him, Minho had refused, crying about not wanting to be a monster. Was it possible for a vampire to hate what they are? Was it possible for a vampire to feel emotions like pain and fear, care and compassion? The vampires Jisung had learned about would’ve jumped at the chance to drink a human’s blood, especially if it was being offered, and chances are, he wouldn’t have survived afterward. But Minho had refused, and when Jisung managed to get his instincts to kick in and override his control over them, Minho had still been gentle and careful, had only drank enough to heal himself, and cried the whole time while doing so. It didn’t make sense.

Jisung had meant what he said though; somehow, despite everything he knew to be true about vampires, in that moment, he had trusted Minho completely, had known absolutely that Minho wouldn’t hurt him, and Minho hadn’t broken that trust.

But it left so many questions, way more than he had answers to. Why had Minho moved in with him in the first place? If he’d been using him, then why would he so adamantly refuse the offer of blood, and why would he work so hard to keep Jisung’s trust? Why did he return when he was hurt, when as far as he knew, Jisung hated him and would probably kill him on sight? Had he been hoping Jisung would be home and help save him? That was a bit of a stretch when taking into account the last time they’d spoken. Why did Minho cry when he saw Jisung? Physically, Minho was a vampire and there was no doubt about that, but emotionally, he seemed more human than the hunter could’ve ever imagined or believed unless he’d been the one experiencing it.

Jisung decided that he needed to wait for Minho to wake up in order to finally get some answers, so Jisung pulled up a chair beside the couch, and waited.

  
  
  


Minho awoke with a gasp, body immediately sitting upright and hands flying to his abdomen where he’d been wounded, confusion obvious in his gaze as his eyes darted around the room frantically.

Jisung was by his side in a second, gently taking Minho’s hand in his in order to bring his attention to the human. “Hey,” Jisung said softly, “it’s good to see you awake.”

Minho’s eyes remained wide and confused. “What happened?” He nearly whispered. “How am I alive? I remember you finding me, and I remember us talking but I don’t… it’s all a haze, I don’t remember…”

Jisung did his best to smile comfortingly, rubbing soft circles on the back of Minho’s cool hand. He was debating how to explain the events that saved his life when Minho’s eyes drifted down, widening at the sight of the gauze bandage on Jisung’s neck.

“Sung, what happened to your neck?” he asked shakily, fear clearly visible in his gaze.

“Min, I’m not hurt,” he reassured, recognizing the vulnerable state the older was in. “It’s not a big deal, I promise.”

Despite the reassurances, Minho’s hand carefully extended towards the bandage, Jisung making no attempt to stop him as he pulled back one of the corners and recoiled as though he’d been burned at the sight of a scabbed and red bite mark. Minho choked out a strangled cry as he hastily shuffled away from the human towards the other end of the couch, his features twisted in horror as a shaky hand covered his mouth, water pooling in his eyes.

_“Oh god, what have I done?”_

Jisung tried to move forward, more reassuring words prepared to fall from his lips, but he was stopped by Minho’s sobbing pleads.

“Don’t! Please don’t, I don’t want to hurt you!”

“Min-”

Minho continued to sob, body shaking as tears fell down his cheeks. “I hurt you, I’m a monster! You should’ve killed me, why didn’t you kill me? I deserve to die!”

“Minho-”

“I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry. I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry, what have I done? What have I done?”

“Minho!” Jisung shouted, finally managing to get the older’s attention. “It’s okay, you didn’t hurt me.”

“I attacked you,” Minho sobbed.

“No, you didn’t.” Jisung moved to sit in front of the wary vampire, Minho’s knees pulled to his chest and hands shaking horribly. “I offered my blood so that you would live, and you didn’t even want to do it, I had to make you.”

“But I still hurt you.”

Jisung shook his head. “It didn’t hurt, you were really gentle.”

“I don’t understand,” Minho sniffled. “Why would you do that? Why would you try to save a monster like me? You said you’d kill me.”

Jisung felt a fist tighten around his heart at the mention of the threat he’d made. He reached out and grabbed Minho’s hand once more. “Because I care about you. Because you’re my friend.”

Minho wiped at another tear that slipped from his eye. “I thought you hated me.”

“I thought I did,” Jisung admitted, shame apparent in the way his eyes stared down at their hands. “I was angry, and everything I’d been taught told me to hate you, but when I saw you on the floor, when I saw how hurt you were, I was scared for you. I didn’t want you to die.”

Minho sniffled again, watching Jisung carefully. “You swear I didn’t hurt you? Th-that I didn’t attack you or force you or anything?”

Jisung smiled reassuringly, squeezing the older’s hand. “I promise.”

Jisung was a little shocked to see the words cause even more tears to slip down Minho’s face, resulting in him untangling the vampire’s limbs and pulling him into a tight hug, shushing him as Minho cried into Jisung’s shirt. He could feel that Minho was still shaking, nails gently digging into Jisung’s back as though he were a life line, and Jisung realized that maybe he was. Maybe Minho really didn’t want to hurt him, and the thought that he might’ve attacked the human, forcefully taking his blood to keep himself alive, was a terrifying breach of whatever values he held dear. Maybe Jisung really was right to care about Minho’s wellbeing, because Minho seemed to care about his just as much.

After several minutes, Minho began to pull back, wiping his eyes as he noticed how late it was. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, “I should probably go now. I’m sorry for making you have to deal with this.” He moved to stand up, but Jisung stopped him with a firm grip on his wrist.

“No wait, you don’t have to go.” Minho looked at him in confusion. “You were nearly just killed, Minho, and this is the first time I’ve seen you since… since you left. Besides, I still have so many questions.”

Minho reluctantly sat down. “You… want me to stay?”

Jisung nodded. “I’m sorry about before, I’m really sorry. What I said and how I acted, I didn’t give you a chance to defend yourself, and I should’ve. You’re my friend but I didn’t treat you like one, and you nearly died because of it.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Minho shook his head. 

“Yes, it was. I kicked you out and put you in danger. You were alone because of me.”

“I was stupid and let myself get tracked. That’s on me, not you.”

“But I still could’ve kept you safe, I could’ve protected you.”

Minho shook his head again, looking at Jisung with soft eyes. “I don’t want you to blame yourself, okay? You had every right to kick me out. I lied to you. The anger was well deserved.”

“I treated you like a monster, and forgoed everything already knew about you,” Jisung whispered softly. “I’m still confused, you are so different from anything I learned about vampires. I was taught that you don’t even feel emotions, but I saw how afraid you were when you thought you were going to die, and just now when you thought you hurt me…”

“We do feel,” Minho confirmed. “They teach you lies, Sung. So many lies about what they claim we’re like, but it’s not true, not for most of us.”

“What’s the truth?” Jisung asked. “The whole truth about what you are? I want to know.”

“Well for starters,” Minho replied, leaning back against the couch. “We do feel emotions, just like you do. That never goes away once we change, we feel fear or sadness, love and care. We aren’t soulless shells. Yeah there’s definitely vampires that are cruel, that enjoy hurting people, but a lot of us don’t want to. Most of us never asked to be like this, and we hate it as much as you do.”

“They told us that you manipulate people to mess with them.”

Minho shook his head. “Maybe some do, but most don’t, or at least I don’t. I just want to live my life, and I don’t want to hurt anyone. I’d never even drank human blood until…”

“You’ve lived on animal blood this whole time?”

“Yeah,” Minho nodded. “My whole coven does.”

Jisung tilted his head. “You have a coven?”

“You’ve met them,” Minho replied with a small smile. “Chan, Seungmin, Innie and Felix.”

Jisung’s eyes widened at the thought that he’d been introduced to even more vampires in his life. “I didn’t even realize-”

Minho laughed quietly at that younger’s shocked gaze. “They’re harmless, Sung. I wouldn’t have introduced you to them if I thought they’d be a danger to you.”

Jisung breathed a small sigh of relief. “So then, how long have you known them?”

“A few decades, basically since I was turned,” Minho shrugged.

“How did you turn?” Jisung asked, before realizing how invasive that question might actually be. “If you’re comfortable telling me.”

“The same way most of us are turned. A vampire broke into my family’s home, killed my mom and dad, and then came for me. For whatever reasons, he decided to add to my pain and chose to turn me, and I spent three days incapacitated on the floor in front of my parents’ bodies.”

Jisung wasn’t sure what to say, hadn’t even thought about how someone like Minho might’ve lost people in his past. “I’m sorry, that must’ve been horrible.”

Minho chuckled without humor, his gaze seeming far away. “The pain when you turn is the worst pain imaginable, and like most vampires, no one was there with me through it. All I could do was writhe on the ground as my body died and shut down, the venom eating me from the inside out. And then when it was finally over, I just stayed there and cried, for days, unable to sleep, unable to die, just existing.” 

Jisung saw the haunted look in Minho’s eyes, and decided to grab the older’s hand once more. “Hey,” he called Minho’s attention softly. “It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about this.”

Minho was shaken from his trance by Jisung’s voice. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I don’t usually talk about my past.”

“Then why tell me?”

“Because I want you to know, and because I trust you.” Minho shook his head as if to clear the dark thoughts from his mind. “Chan found me in that house almost two weeks after I turned, helped me find some animal blood to give me the strength to at least function, and then invited me to live with him. At the time, it was just us, then eventually Felix and Seungmin joined our group, and a few years ago, Innie. We don’t all live together, but we support each other, and in a world like this, that’s important to have when every turn is a hunter dead set on murdering you or or friends for something you never asked for.”

So everything Jisung had been taught was a lie, one big, horrible, twisted lie. His family, his friends, all the hunters were murdering potentially innocent people who were victims. Hunters torture them, disect them, create weapons that cause the most pain and damage possible, all for the sake of the sadistic lie they lived. Minho, and others like him, were suffering because of hunters and the Order.

“Sungie?” Jisung was shaken from his thoughts by Minho’s soft voice. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Jisung stuttered unconvincingly, obvious by the look Minho gave him. Jisung sighed, wringing his hands in front of him. “Everything I was taught was a lie, and everyone I know, they do horrible things to vampires, all because they believe you’re something you’re not. If I had completed the academy, I would’ve been out there hunting you, telling myself the pain and torture we inflict upon you guys is justified because you’re evil. But it’s not true…”

“You didn’t know any better, you were essentially brainwashed,” Minho tried to reassure him.

“It still makes me sick to think about. It could’ve been you that my friends were bragging about to me that they got to dissect or that they hunted down and that makes it… so much more real.”

“But you know the truth now, and it’s what you do with that that counts,” Minho smiled kindly.

Jisung turned to face the vampire. “Why did you move in with me?”

Minho tilted his head, the smile still on his lips. “The same reason I told you when we first met at the cafe: I needed a new place to live.”

“But why with me, with a hunter?”

“I didn’t know you were a hunter at first,” Minho responded, “though I did get an inkling when you tried to jokingly ask me if I was a vampire. I didn’t know for sure until a few weeks after I moved in when I caught a glimpse of your dagger, but at that point, I was already moved in, and you didn’t seem to be any the wiser about what I was, so I just went with it.”

Jisung nodded slowly in understanding. “Why did you come back?”

Minho frowned causing the younger to quickly try to correct himself.

“Not like, that I’m mad or anything, I just don’t understand why you’d come here when I’d threatened to kill you…”

Minho sighed. “I’m not really sure. I wasn’t thinking very straight, and I was scared. I guess I just… needed to find a place that I at least felt safe, someplace that held good memories. And, I guess, a part of me wanted to see you one last time.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my friend,” Minho chuckled. “Because I care about you, and if I was going to die then I wanted the chance to rectify what I’d done, to make sure you knew that it was never fake.”

“I care about you too, Min.”

  
  
  


Minho didn’t leave that night, or the next, or the next. In fact, Jisung very quickly made it clear that he wanted Minho to move back in, “so I know you’re safe,” as he excused his borderline clinginess. Minho, of course, didn’t mind the request, and was quite happy to oblige since he’d apparently been staying at his friends’ places over the past couple months.

Things quickly fell back into place, almost as if the rift between them had never happened at all. Minho started cooking breakfast again, to which Jisung actually objected since he now knew that it was solely for him, seeing as Minho couldn’t eat regular food, but Minho ignored his protests, continuing to cook for the younger human on a regular basis. Despite his outward defiance of the gesture, Jisung was actually very touched, realizing now that all along, Minho had been cooking solely for him, not just giving him leftovers of his own meals like he’d claimed before. There was something about the idea of Minho cooking for him simply out of the kindness of his heart that made butterflies erupt in Jisung’s stomach.

The only difference in their dynamic was that Minho no longer had to hide what he was, which often led to the vampire using his super speed around the apartment, passing the younger in a blur whenever he needed to get something. Minho still kept to himself and never fed in front of Jisung, though Jisung wouldn’t complain about that since even though he knew Minho had no choice, the thought of drinking blood still made him a bit queasy. 

But something else seemed to have changed between them, this sense of closeness that they’d had before, but stronger. Jisung felt an odd sense of possessiveness and protectiveness, always wanting to know where Minho was, and waiting anxiously for him to return. It felt difficult to even let the older out of his sight, the fear of something happening to him gripping Jisung’s heart and weighing it down with terror. Jisung had nearly had a panic attack the one time Minho returned home from work two hours late and hadn’t answered his phone, coming home to find Jisung in tears on the couch, barely able to form a coherent sentence as he latched onto Minho and refused to let go for over an hour. Minho apologized profusely for scaring the human so much, telling him that he forgot to tell the younger that he was meeting up with Chan briefly after work. Minho assured Jisung that he would keep in touch better so Jisung didn’t have to worry, not that it would ease the human’s fear any less.

Jisung’s feelings for Minho grew tenfold as well, and he couldn’t help but think that maybe Minho really did feel the same. It were as though a switch had flipped after Jisung saved him, and now there was this underlying intimacy between them. Lingering gazes, soft touches, fond smiles, all settling between them like an insurmountable pile of unsaid emotions. Jisung almost felt suffocated, unable to tear his eyes from the boy that would rest his head on his shoulder while watching dramas and movies after dinner, or greet him every morning with a hot bowl of breakfast and sparkling eyes. Jisung knew now that it wasn’t because of the startling beauty that all vampires shared, it was simply because it was Minho, the Minho whose laugh sounded like a melody, whose voice was like honey, whose cool touch still felt like fire on his skin. Minho, who had looked so utterly broken at the thought of hurting Jisung, who in what he thought was his dying moments, found his way back to Jisung just to see him one last time. Vampires weren’t soulless, and Jisung knew that to be the truth, because Minho’s shined so brightly, was so comforting and warm. 

Jisung had fallen for him, completely.

But he was still afraid to say anything, afraid that if he confessed his feelings for the older, it would shatter the peace they had with one another. Maybe Minho didn’t actually feel the same, maybe Minho would feel uncomfortable knowing that the person he shared an apartment with had romantic feelings for him. Maybe Minho wouldn’t want to be with a human. Besides, how would that even work? Minho was immortal, an undying, unaging vampire that would watch Jisung grow old and die someday. They couldn’t be together, at least not for long. Jisung wouldn’t want the older to have to watch someone he loves fade away into nothingness.

Even still, Jisung knew he’d do absolutely anything for Minho. He’d fight hunters and vampires alike, risk everything, even his life, in order to keep the older safe, and he wouldn’t even hesitate. No matter what it took, he’d be there for Minho through anything and everything; he owed him that much, but even if he didn’t, he’d still risk it all in a heartbeat. Minho had become his everything.

Jisung didn’t tell Hyunjin and Changbin about what had transpired. He loved his friends, but he knew they wouldn’t understand, and that they’d undoubtedly either report him, or try to kill Minho themselves, and he couldn’t allow that. He had to keep Minho safe, even if it meant lying to his friends, pretending he still hated the vampire and hadn’t seen him in months. Minho’s life had already been threatened once because of Jisung’s actions, and he wouldn’t allow there to be a second time.

It was these fears that continued to keep the human awake at night, even worse than before Minho had returned. It’d been almost a month since Minho had come back into Jisung’s life, but since then, Jisung hadn’t been able to get a solid night of sleep. He either tossed and turned for hours, worrying about Minho’s safety and what he could do to better protect him, or he dreamt of his worst nightmare, the ones that had already transpired, happening again and again. He relived that moment of intense fear and regret, where Minho lie in his arms bleeding and dying, except this time, he couldn’t save him. Minho would die, over and over, leaving Jisung sobbing into his chest and begging for him to come back. It was a torture like no other, one that Jisung knew deep down that he deserved.

But even then, the twisted folds of his mind found a way to make it worse. After weeks of the same nightmare replaying like a scratched DVD, this time, it was different. Minho died in his arms just the same, leaving Jisung a sobbing mess, until Minho was suddenly standing over him, bright red eyes boring into his very soul, the older’s body still covered in blood as he stared down at Jisung with an emotionless gaze.

“You killed me,” he said. “It’s your fault I died.”

“No, no I would never,” Jisung pleaded up at him, tears still streaming down his cheeks, making the strands of his blonde hair stick to his skin.

“But you did.” Minho looked down at Jisung’s hands, causing the younger to follow his gaze, and the sight made him nauseous.

In his hand was his own dagger, crusting with Minho’s blood.

Jisung threw the weapon away from him, hands shaking as he noticed the sticky blood covering his hands. It was Minho’s as well. “No,” he sobbed. “No, no, no, no, please no. I didn’t want this! I wouldn’t hurt you!”

Minho only leaned down, face to face with the hysteric human on the floor. “You killed me, Jisung.”

And then Jisung was falling into nothingness, as though an anchor were pulling him down to hell as he screamed Minho’s name, begging for forgiveness like Minho would even be willing to give it to him. It didn’t end for what felt like eternity, until Jisung was suddenly being shaken, his own name ringing through his ears.

“Jisung, wake up!”

Jisung’s eyes flew open, his chest feeling tight and throat raw, eyes landing on the boy he’d just dreamt he killed. “M-Minho?” he stuttered, eyes immediately pooling with tears as it felt like the air was ripped from his body, sobs beginning to choke from his throat. Minho wasted no time in pulling the younger into his arms as he sat down on Jisung’s bed, holding him tightly as he shushed his cries.

“Shh, it’s okay Jisungie, it’s okay. It was only a dream, everything’s okay.”

“I killed you,” Jisung cried, shaky hands holding tightly to Minho’s dark t-shirt. “You were dead, and I was the one that killed you.”

Minho took Jisung’s face in his hands, bringing the younger’s gaze to his as he brushed away the tears with his thumbs. Minho swore the younger looked like a kicked puppy, and it broke his heart. “You didn’t kill me,” he assured. “I’m right here in front of you, alive and kicking.” He grabbed one of Jisung’s hands, pressing it to his chest. “See?”

Jisung nodded tearfully, leaning forward to rest his head on the older’s shoulder as he continued to sniffle, taking the opportunity to allow himself to be enveloped by Minho’s scent and drown in the comfort he provided. Minho ran fingers through Jisung’s hair, leaning back against the bedpost as Jisung continued to calm down.

“I’m sorry,” Jisung apologized after a few more minutes.

“No need to apologize,” Minho promised in reply. “You can’t control your dreams, and I’ll always be here to save you from them.”

Jisung looked up hopefully, eyes shining in the dim moonlight. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Jisung hummed in content, nuzzling closer to Minho before quickly falling back asleep. Minho carefully pulled them to lay down on the mattress beneath them, pulling the covers up to keep the human in his arms warm, and holding him close with hope that maybe Jisung could have a peaceful sleep from here on out.

  
  
  


Jisung laid on the couch, scrolling nonchalantly through his phone as the clock on the wall ticked away aimlessly. It was late, later than usual, but thankfully this time, Jisung knew that Minho was only out with his coven, and would be back before midnight. There was still an hour to go, so he didn’t need to worry yet.

Jisung had been in a rather good mood all day, not even his boss’ nagging could bring him down. Something about the events of the previous night made his heart flutter in his chest. Minho promised to always be there to save him from his nightmares, which was an adorable sentiment in itself, but then Jisung had woken up that morning curled around Minho with the older playing with his hair and poking his cheeks. Jisung didn’t think he’d ever been that flustered, but Minho only laughed it off, remarking that Jisung was cute when he slept.

Cute. Yeah, Minho was going to be the death of him.

Jisung was eventually pulled from his thoughts by his phone blasting the drunk squirrel he had for a ringtone, signifying that Minho was calling.

“Hey,” Jisung answered with a smile.

“Sungie? I need help.”

Jisung sat bolt upright in his seat, smile disappearing instantly. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I think some hunters are tracking me.” Minho’s voice was laced with worry. “I haven’t seen them, but I keep feeling like I’m being followed, and I can smell them.”

“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

“I’m in an alley by 5th Street across from the cafe we met at. I’m doing my best to stay out of sight so they don’t see me.”

Jisung nodded, already grabbing his coat and slipping on his shoes. “Stay safe and call me if anything changes. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Jisung was grateful that it was only about a 15 minute walk, about five minutes if you run. He was out of breath as he darted down the quiet streets, but the adrenaline kept him going, muscles straining to reach Minho as fast as he could. He didn’t know exactly what they’d do once he was there, since it’s not like him arriving would magically make the hunters stop tracking Minho, but he would feel better knowing the older was beside him, so if they had to fight, he could keep him safe.

Jisung slowed to a stop in front of the alley Minho had mentioned, peering down the yellow-lit space. “Minho?” He called.

A dark hair figure stepped out of a doorway, and Jisung sighed in relief, rushing to the vampire and hugging him tightly. Minho chuckled. “I’m okay,” he said.”

Jisung nodded, pulling back to talk with him properly. “They haven’t found you yet?”

Minho shook his head. “I don’t even think they’ve come any closer, it’s like they’re staying just at the edge of my area of awareness, but aren’t willing to close the distance. They’ve been following me for a while but they’ve suddenly just stopped.”

Jisung frowned. “Well our best bet would probably be to move and see if they continue to follow. If they don’t then we can assume it’s safe.”

“That makes sense,” Minho nodded, before his eyes narrowed in confusion. “The hell?” he muttered.

“What is it?” Jisung asked.

“I smell something weird…” Minho seemed to glance around the alley, looking for the source. “It’s weird… like a warm scent, but acidic, almost burning-” Minho cut off as he suddenly stumbled, Jisung quickly catching the vampire and helping him regain his balance.

“The hell? Are you okay?”

Minho brows furrowed in obvious confusion. “Yeah, I just… felt a little-” This time Minho collapsed to the ground faster than Jisung could catch him.

“Minho!” Jisung crouched beside him, grabbing the vampire’s shoulders to try to ground him. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t… know.” Minho groaned, gripping his head while leaning over in obvious pain. “My head… it’s splitting.”

“Do you need blood?” Jisung ws at a loss on what to do. “Should I call Chan?”

“I don’t… I…” Minho groaned even louder, fingers tightening into fists. “Sungie… run.”

“What? Like hell.”

“You n-need… to run.”

“Why the hell would I run?” Jisung asked in disbelief. “There’s hunters on your ass, I’m not about to leave you here.”

Minho shook his head, curling further into a ball on his knees. “Something’s wrong,” he gasped. “I’m… losing control.”

“Minho, I’m not leaving you,” Jisung fired back, pulling the older up by the shoulders to look him in the eye, but the sight startled him. Minho’s fangs were elongated, mouth open as he gasped for air, and his eyes were fading in and out between scarlet red and their usual brown.

Minho’s dazed eyes landed on him, and something flashed in them, something that made Jisung’s stomach churn: bloodlust.

In a fraction of a second, Minho had Jisung pinned to the brick wall, the younger shouting in surprise at the force. Minho’s hand was around the younger’s throat in a vice grip, not tight enough to suffocate him, but enough to keep him from moving. The sinister smile Minho gave him was enough to make Jisung’s heart drop to the floor.

“Minho,” Jisung called to him, trying to peel the vampire’s hands away. “Minho, it’s me, Jisung.”

Minho showed no sign of care, harshly pulling Jisung’s head to the side and leaning in close to his exposed neck, likely smelling his scent. 

“Minho,” Jisung continued to babble, useless trying to push the vampire away. “I know this isn’t you, you don’t want to hurt me. Snap out of it.”

Jisung felt Minho’s lips brush over the skin of his neck, and the action shot fear through him, suddenly realizing that Minho might kill him if he didn’t get him to stop. 

“Please don’t, please, Minho, please,” Jisung began to beg, still trying to pry Minho off of him, but Minho didn’t listen, immediately camping down into Jisung’s neck, causing the human to cry out. This wasn’t like before, this wasn’t Minho feeding for the sake of survival, this wasn’t gentle or careful. Minho was rough, his bite sharp and painful as he began to drink from the very human he’d promised to never hurt.

Jisung continued to babble Minho’s name, begging for the older to stop as he attempted to fight back, but it was fruitless. Minho’s grip was too strong, and nothing seemed to be getting through to him; whatever this was, it had turned Minho into the monster he swore he never wanted to be. It had taken away his will and control, turning him into nothing but an animal that craved blood, and Jisung was the closest target.

He was helpless. The only thing he had to fight back was his dagger, and sure he could use it, but Minho was in a state that the only thing that would stop him was killing him, and Jisung knew he couldn’t do that. Even while desperate, he knew he could never bring himself to hurt or kill Minho. There was nothing he could do.

“Please,” Jisung whimpered, beginning to feel lightheaded as tears fell from his eyes. “Please stop.”

His vision was beginning to get blurry, the world spinning as his body screamed for Minho to stop, but Jisung had lost the strength to fight, or to even talk. Minho was going to kill him, and though he was afraid, he was more afraid of what would happen to Minho. If Minho woke up from this and found that he’d killed Jisung, it’d destroy him. Minho didn’t deserve anymore pain, it was unfair.

Just as Jisung thought he would lose consciousness, he felt Minho get pulled off of him, a loud _thunk!_ echoing in the alley. Jisung collapsed into someone’s arms, a familiar voice speaking to him gently. “It’s okay, Sung, you’re safe.”

Jisung finally focused enough, recognizing the long blonde locks of Hyunjin supporting him, and Changbin standing over an unconscious Minho.

“Fucking bastard,” Changbin spat, unsheathing his blessed sword, and it only then occurred to the human that Changbin and Hyunjin had no idea about Minho, and were going to kill him.

“No wait!” Jisung protested, pulling himself from Hyunjin’s arms and stumbling forward to Minho’s unconscious form. “Don’t hurt him!”

“Have you lost your mind?” Changbin looked at Jisung incredulously.

“It’s Minho!”

Hyunjin stepped forward, attempting to pull Jisung away. “Jisung, you’re confused because of the blood loss. Minho left months ago, and he’s a bloodsucker.”

“No, you don’t understand!” Jisung pulled from Hyunjin’s grip. “He came back a month ago, he’s been living with me! He’s not like this, something happened. He wouldn’t hurt me.”

“He would’ve killed you if we hadn’t shown up, Sung,” Changbin stated, his sword still poised to end Minho’s life in a single swing.

“But it wasn’t his fault, something happened to him! He was being tracked by hunters, and then he said he smelled something, and suddenly his head started hurting. Within minutes he lost complete control, this wasn’t him, he would never try to hurt me.”

“Sung,” Hyunjin said softly, “he’s a bloodsucker.”

“He’s different! Please, I’m begging you, help me help him! I don’t know what’s wrong but this isn’t who he is!”

Hyunjin and Changbin looked down at their friend, who shielded the vampire with his body in an attempt to protect him. Changbin sighed, sheathing his sword. “I can’t believe I’m listening to this. Come on, let’s get you two to my place so we can tie him up and patch up your neck.”

Jisung nodded fervently. “I’ll carry him.”

“No way in hell,” Hyunjin disagreed. “You were nearly unconscious from blood loss, you probably can’t even walk a block on your own. I’m carrying you, and Bin is carrying Minho.”

Jisung was honestly too exhausted to argue, so after crawling onto Hyunjin’s back and Changbin picking up Minho’s unconscious form, they headed off to Changbin’s apartment down the street.

  
  
  


“It has to have been the drug the Order was working on,” Hyunjin voiced his thoughts as he patched up Jisung’s neck in the spare bedroom, Changbin tying Minho’s wrists and securing them to the bedpost.

“Wouldn’t they have told us if they had turned it to gas form already?” Changbin questioned.

“Maybe not, not if it’s still in testing.”

“Minho said that the hunters refused to get close even though they were following him. You think they were doing that purposely so they could see how it would affect him?” Jisung asked, wincing as Hyunjin wiped the drying blood from his neck.

“It’s possible.”

Jisung frowned. “That’s so fucked up.”

“They’re bloodsuckers, Jisung.”

Jisung shook his head, causing Hyunjin to glare as he tried to apply gauze to the younger’s neck. “They’re not like what we’ve been taught. They have emotions, and a lot of them don’t want to hurt people. They never asked to be like this.”

“I have a hard time believing that,” Changbin sighed.

“It’s true,” Jisung assured. “I’ve seen it.”

“How did him coming back even happen?” Hyunjin asked.

Jisung sighed, leaning back against the chair as Hyunjin finally finished patching his wound. He still felt pretty weak, but a lot better now that he was safe and cleaned up. “About a month ago, I came home and found him on the apartment floor, bleeding to death. Hunters had attacked him, and he wasn’t healing. He was barely even conscious, and I thought he was going to die. I was scared for him, and I felt so guilty, because I’d kicked him out, and he’d gotten hurt because of it. Human blood was the only thing strong enough to heal him, so I made him drink mine.”

“Are you insane?!” Changbin all but screeched. “That’s literally the most taboo act you can commit! And for a fucking bloodsuck-”

“Stop calling him that,” Jisung snapped. “He’s no monster, so stop treating him like one.” He took a deep breath. “Minho refused to feed from me. He was terrified of it, kept saying he didn’t want to hurt me. The only way I managed to get him to do it was to literally draw blood so that he’d lose enough control in his weakened state to give in. Even then, he cried the whole time. When he woke up afterwards and he saw the bite on my neck, he freaked out, kept saying I should kill him and that he was a monster. But that was how I came to really realize that he wasn’t. He cared about me, was scared of hurting me, scared that he had attacked me. After I got him to calm down, he and I talked about everything. He was never using me, and he regretted lying to me. He lives on animal blood as does his coven, and he never even wanted to be a vampire. He said that all the vampires he knows feel just like we do, and it seems most of them are terrified of us, because all they want to do is try to live in peace. We’ve been terrorizing and murdering them, and many of them are just victims.”

Hyunjin sighed. “I can’t say I believe it, but Minho did seem really sweet when we met him. I don’t know, I guess I’ll just have to see it to believe it.”

Changbin nodded in agreement. “Yeah, see it to believe it.”

  
  
  


Minho woke up not too long after, the same red eyes boring into Jisung’s soul as he tugged against his restraints, trying to move to the nearest target. Jisung frowned, pulling up a chair in front of him, his friends watching from a safe distance behind him.

“Hey Min,” Jisung tried to smile, reaching to brush some of Minho’s dark hair from his eyes, only for the vampire to jerk away, glaring and still tugging at the ropes. “How are you feeling?”

Minho suddenly lunged forward, fangs bared as if to bite Jisung, but he was still held back by the ropes, keeping a few inches between his furthest reach and Jisung’s body.

Jisung frowned even deeper. “I know this isn’t you, Min, and I know you’re still in there. I need you to come back to me, okay? I need you to come back.” Another growl. “You’re no monster, I know you aren’t, and you don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Minho didn’t seem to be listening, too focused on trying to free himself so he could attack the humans present, but Jisung didn’t care. He just kept talking.

“I trust you, and I believe in you. You’re stronger than this. Remember last night, when you promised you’d always be there to save me from my dreams? Well I need you to do that now, yeah? Because seeing you like this hurts. I know this is against everything you believe in, and it pains me to see you like this. Please wake up, Min.”

Jisung continued to talk to Minho over the next hour or so, as the vampire continued to only yank at his restraints to no avail. Eventually, Minho wore out from struggling so much, and laid down, exhausted, red eyes wandering around the room. Jisung knew however that the drug seemed to be wearing off, obvious by how he’d been able to sit on the bed and rest Minho’s head in his lap without him trying to kill him. Minho still wasn’t mentall present, but his restraint had returned somewhat.

It wasn’t until a couple hours later, Jisung carding his fingers through Minho’s hair as he hummed random tunes, as he felt wetness soaking into his pant leg. Tears. Minho was crying.

“Min?” Jisung called, halting his ministrations to wait for a reply. All he got in response was a small, heartbroken whimper. “Minho, are you okay?”

“I nearly killed you.” Minho’s voice was barely a whisper, wobbly and laced with pain. Jisung felt like someone had stabbed his heart with a serrated blade. “You were so scared, and… and I…”

Jiusng shifted, making the older sit up and moving so he could face him. Minho stared down at his lap, tears dripping down his nose. “Hey,” Jisung called, reaching out for Minho’s face, “look at me.” Minho jerked away.

“You should’ve killed me,” Minho whimpered. “I know you had your dagger with you, you should’ve killed me.”

“No,” Jisung shook his head, “I could never do that.”

“I was going to kill you, Jisung!” Minho shouted angrily. “I had you pinned a wall, killing you, and if Hyunjin and Changbin hadn’t shown up, you’d be a corpse in that alley! I would’ve woken up from this and I-” Minho’s voice broke, hands turning to fists in their restraints as tears continued to fall from his eyes. “If I had woken up, and found that I’d killed you… I couldn’t live with myself. I’d rather die than hurt you.”

Jisung swiftly untied the ropes on his wrists, taking one of the vampire's shaking hands and pressing the vampire’s palm against his chest, mimicking what Minho had done the night before. “You didn’t kill me, I’m right here, alive and kicking.” Jisung smiled comfortingly as he brushed a tear from Minho’s cheek. “See? I’m still here.”

Minho nodded tearfully, taking Jisung’s hand in his. “I’m so sorry, Sung. Words can’t express how sorry I am for what I did.”

“It wasn’t your fault. We think the hunters used a drug that’s designed to make you lose control, and you didn't have any say in that. I just happened to be in the crossfire.” Jisung gave Minho’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“I still did something unforgivable.”

“No,” Jisung reassured, holding Minho’s face gently before pulling him into a tight, warm hug. “You didn’t. I forgive you, Min. I’ll always forgive you.”

Minho snaked his arms around the human’s waist, latching on tightly as he buried his face into Jisung’s shoulder. “It was like I was watching everything happen, but I couldn’t actually control my body. I could see the fear in your eyes, feel you struggling to get me off of you, hear you crying while I was literally killing you, but I couldn’t do anything. I felt you going limp in my hold and I was powerless to stop myself. I was so scared…”

Jisung ran a hand through Minho’s hair. “It wasn’t you, and it’s behind us now, okay? We’re both here, and that’s what’s important.”

Minho looked up, tearful eyes glistening in the lamp light beside them. “Why do you care about me so much?”

“Because I love you.”

Minho froze, and Jisung nearly panicked, realizing he’d let slip the one confession he’d sworn to himself he wouldn’t say, but before he could apologize, cool lips were pressing against his, salty from the tears, fervent and desperate for anything they could get.

Minho pulled away nearly as quickly as he’d initiated the kiss, and it was Jisung’s turn to blink in confusion. “I love you too,” Minho admitted, “so much.”

Jisung could only smile, giggling like a school boy who just found out his crush liked him, because that was exactly how it felt. Somehow, Minho felt the same.

Jisung leaned forward to press another kiss to Minho’s lips, smiling as he felt Minho’s hand tighten on his waist. He could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be honest, I don't feel great about this ending because I had a lot more I wanted to write for this story, but I did what I could in the time I had. hope you enjoyed!


End file.
